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Nest Thermostat

Nest ThermostatYou may be apprehensive at first because of the price tag (usually around $249) but do your research and understand the payback and you might be surprised. There are rebates and you should always check your local energy provider and federal resources. I wanted to write this article to highlight what I felt were the benefits and some drawbacks of the Nest Thermostat.

 

Benefits

– Interface is very easy to navigate

– Setup and assembly was easy to understand and informative

– One (if not the) easiest thermostat to program

– You can access your thermostat from anywhere (pending wifi connection).

– You will save money. Even if you keep a similar temperature level as before

– Auto away feature

 

Drawbacks

– Setting temporary setpoints hard to understand / accomplish

– Price versus competitors

– Auto away feature (pets)

 

Rebates

– Nest National Grid Rebate https://www.nest.com/energy-partners/national-grid/

– List of Nest Rebates by Location https://community.nest.com/thread/1023

– Programmable Thermostat Rebates http://en.openei.org/wiki/List_of_Programmable_Thermostats_Incentives

 

Saving Money

Even if you keep the same temperature levels as you did before you purchase the Nest you will save money. This is because the nest has some powerful features built to make it automatic and easy to save money. These are the auto-away feature which will “automatically turns to an energy-efficient Away temperature when you’re gone.[1]”

 

Moving on to the next phase – Nest Energy Services

 

“Today — on Earth Day — Nest is announcing what may be viewed as the second stage of its strategy. Now that is has invaded thousands of homes with its smart device and gathered data about its customers’ climate and living habits, Nest can begin using its powers in a new way. This summer the company will roll out a series of programs called the Nest Energy Services.[2]”

 

Essentially your Nest will be able to meet and mitigate the strenuous energy demand during peak times. It will work in partnership with local utility companies to help prevent blackouts from occurring by shifting demand.

 

“But Nest’s more exotic services focus directly on tackling the demands of air-conditioning a home in summer. The most dramatic is Rush Hour Rewards, which kicks in only a few times a year, during the late summer afternoons when consumption peaks.[2]”

 

These programs can be successful if just a small fraction of available participants choose to try the service (which allows customers to opt-out at any time) by helping both the utility companies manage energy supply constraints and customers save money by limiting use during peak rate times.

 

Resources

  1. http://nest.com/

  2. https://www.nest.com/energy-partners/national-grid/

  3. https://community.nest.com/thread/1023

  4. http://en.openei.org/wiki/List_of_Programmable_Thermostats_Incentives

  5. http://nest.com/living-with-nest/

  6. http://www.wired.com/business/2013/04/nest-energy-services/